Aug. 15, 2013

Written by

Under the Dome - the Blog

It’s probably too easy for me to do this, but I would remind Councilman Jose Castaneda that “a man who represents himself in court has a fool for a client.”

Yeah, that was cheap -- but I just couldn’t help myself.

So as it turns out, the embattled Castaneda apparently did file a response -- on his own with no assistance from a real lawyer that I can see -- to the city lawsuit against him.

He was just playing possum as usual.

I obtained a copy of the three page response Thursday and it basically is a pack of denials but no explanations of his positions on why he should be able to hold both his City Council seat and his seat on the Alisal Union School District board -- a position that not only violates the state Government Code but is also clearly a severe conflict of interest.

One mildly interesting thing is the mystery of when exactly he filed the response. The response text actually is dated Aug. 9, but the (all-important) court date stamp appears to be Aug. 15. But that date has been oddly scratched out and replaced with a handwritten “14” and the unintelligible initials of what I presume is a court clerk. So when exactly this puppy was filed is not clear. This might become a pivotal issue later.

A scan of his response shows that he basically denies any wrongdoing.

Some of Castaneda formal points of argument include:

>> That holding onto his AUSD seat is in fact llegal.

>> That the two offices are inherently incompatible and that a significant ‘clash of duties’ is unlikely to arise.

>> He also thinks that if anyone should have a beef with him holding onto both seats, it should be AUSD and not the city. He suggests -- contrary to a huge amount of case law that we’ve seen -- that the city doesn’t have in legal terms “standing” to purse the case. Salinas, however, thinks otherwise.

>> Castaneda also thinks the Monterey County Superior Court has no jurisdiction and cannot hear such “quo warranto” cases. He doesn’t quite outline what court might have the juice to take this one on.

(Page 2 of 2)

>> Finally, the embattled newbie finally cuts to the chase by telling the court:

“To proceed with a trial in this action is against the public interest as it is a colossal waste of scarce public resources and the Court’s precious limited time because the public election for the public office that Defendant would be removed from, if the complaint is successful will occur on Nov. 5, 2013 before the trial date and the conclusions of these proceedings …”

I hear through sources that Castaneda did not pay a court filing fee and has applied for a waiver.

Finally, and this is no surprise, he is asking the court to dismiss the city’s case with prejudice and to award him all expenses and costs he incurs defending himself. (Wondering what he bill out to, hourly?)

Finally, and this is Castaneda’s laughable to attempt to kick his colleagues in the teeth, he is asking the court to make Mayor Joe Gunter and council members Jyl Lutes, Gloria De La Rosa and Kimbley Craig pay the city back for the cost of the lawsuit against him.

“That the Salinas City Council member(s) who voted to authorize this action against Defendant be ordered and directed to reimburse the public treasury of the City of Salinas for all expenses, costs and fees incurred for this politically motivated and selfish action by them …,” Castaneda wrote.

For part, Gunter, who publicly has been showing the patience of Jobe in dealing with all of this man’s chaos, said Thursday nothing in the response actually surprised him.

“It comes down to whether we are going to have a council with members who respect and obey the law or not. We (the council majority) believe Mr. Castaneda is violating the law by holding onto the school board seat and we’re going to call him on it,” Gunter said later Thursday. “We didn’t ask for this mess, but we’d be dropping the ball if we didn’t challenge him. If we didn’t do this why would the public have any reason to trust us?”

Gunter said next steps for the city include filing a motion to have a judge review the case and, hopefully, rule for the city.

Short of that, lawyers representing the city will be instructed to seek an expedited trial date.

Speaking of lawyers, representing the city is this case Thomas A Willis, a partner in the San Leandro legal firm of Remcho, Johansen & Purcell.

Willis is acknowledge specialist in the area of the law governing the electoral and political process, federal and state campaign finance, lobbying, conflicts of interest, and other ethics laws.

Jeff Mitchell covers Salinas Valley politics and government. Under the Dome, an opinion column, appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in both print and online. For quick political hits, check out Under the Dome - The Blog which is available at: www.theCalifornian.com most every day. Readers are invited to send news tips or story ideas by email to: jemitchell@TheCalifornian.com.